


Charge

by flooj9235



Series: Rebuilding [3]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/F, Near Death Experiences, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-06-02 15:09:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6570967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flooj9235/pseuds/flooj9235
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As part of the rebuilding effort, Miranda has been assigned to help restore communications across Earth and out into the galaxy.  She's been working herself to the bone trying to avoid nightmares and get a communications array set up, and her exertion catches up with her and nearly costs her her life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Charge

Miranda’s entire life had become communication networks.  All of the top Alliance communications experts had either been off-world when the Crucible fired, or had been killed when their equipment exploded. While technicians and engineers had been recruited and there were teams working on installing new equipment, the organization and planning was… lacking.

Not that she minded, of course.  Having something to do to distract herself from all the destruction was a relief.  She hadn’t been able to sleep without seeing a husk on top of her, teeth snapping at her throat, red light flashing in the background.  Worse was when she saw Oriana in her place, screaming for help.

Miranda threw herself into the work gladly, pushing herself and taking on extra responsibility to work herself to exhaustion.  It helped a bit; after an 18-hour day, she was often too tired to dream.  Besides that, the harder she worked, the sooner they would have decent communications up.  She hadn’t heard from Oriana since that first encoded message, and between the lack of communication and her nightmares, Miranda was more than a little concerned.  She ached to hear her sister’s voice again, and knew that she would work herself to the bone to make sure that would happen.

Despite her dedication, Miranda got tired of being stuck in her office coordinating efforts.  It was too easy to get lost in thought, and wayward worries about her sister were dreadful for her productivity.  Rather than succumb to her own mind, Miranda went out into the field, supervising some of the crews she had helped to organize.

They were in a relatively clear section of London, though there was still plenty of rubble and devastation around them.  Miranda paid most of it no mind, only focusing on her team and the sensitive equipment for the new communication arrays.

She kept a close eye on the team responsible for the supports, barking out orders and adjustments to their route.  It took a few hours to get the supports into position, and despite being behind schedule, Miranda was determined to have the array active before sundown.

Her teams split into more specialized groups, heading to a nearby Alliance mess test for lunch in shifts.  Miranda ignored the dull ache in her belly and pushed through her hunger, focusing on the teams setting up the array’s base supports.  She moved around the working men and women, checking their work until she was satisfied.

The heavy crews came next, armed with machinery and biotics.  Miranda gave firm orders as they lifted the first support beam into place, nodding with satisfaction when it settled into the base and didn’t slip.

While the crews started on the second support, Miranda headed for the third prepared base, seeking out some shade.  She hadn’t been to London in years, but she didn’t remember it being quite so hot.  The former operative kept an eye on her teams as she took a moment to rest.  The base for the third support was the perfect height to lean against, and the brunette rested against it and let the sounds around her fade away. Her limbs felt a little shaky and Miranda closed her eyes. She’d have to get some real rest after the array was set up; her body was going to give out if she kept this up and she couldn’t deal with being hospitalized if she happened to collapse in front of her crew.  The fewer setbacks to hearing from Oriana, the better.

A shout caught her attention and Miranda’s eyes snapped open.  She looked up, dread filling her as she watched the second support beam fall toward her.  Oriana’s face flashed through her head as metal groaned and the beam careened toward her.

A bright flash of blue charged into her, and there was a horrible crash.  Miranda tumbled to the ground and blinked, slowly realizing she wasn’t dead.  It took a moment for her to realize that someone was shouting again, and the brunette looked up to see Jack scowling at her, still crackling with biotic energy.

“—the _fuck_ were you doing just standing there?!  No barrier coulda stopped that thing!  You got a death with?  Jesus, Cheerleader!”

Some of Miranda’s crewmen came running up, pale-faced and breathless.  “Miss Lawson!  Are you all right?”

Miranda nodded faintly, looking past the men to the fallen beam.  Dust was still settling around it, and the section of the base Miranda had been leaning against had been crushed.  She swallowed and tried not to think about how close she had been to death.  Miranda wiped the emotion from her face and looked up at her men, ignoring Jack fuming beside them.  “Make sure no one was injured, then see if there’s any damage.  We need this array operational as soon as possible.”

The men saluted and jogged off with their orders.

Miranda watched them go, then reluctantly looked up at Jack.

The instructor was still frowning, her arms crossed over her chest, and she huffed when Miranda met her gaze.  “Seriously, what the fuck?  You didn’t even move!”

Miranda opened her mouth to respond, couldn’t find words, and got to her feet instead.  “What are you doing here, convict?”

“The kids and I are cleaning up a few blocks away.  Little shits wanted to eat, and I heard some of your guys bragging and wanted to see what the big deal was.” Jack scowled all over again.  “Didn’t know I’d find you tryin’ to get killed.  Or maybe just cushion your new toy with your tits.  Hell if I know.”

Miranda gave Jack a dry look, then sighed.  “Thank you,” she said sincerely.

Jack snorted and studied her for a moment.  Another frown crossed her face, but this one looked less angry and more concerned.  “You look like shit.”

“I did just nearly get crushed to death,” the former operative snarked.

Jack didn’t take the bait.  “You sick or somethin’?”

Miranda shook her head.  “I’m fine.”

The instructor shot Miranda a disbelieving look.  “I deal with fuckin’ teenagers all day, and you’re a shitty liar.”  She gave Miranda another once over, then scoffed and motioned in the direction of the mess tent.  “C’mon.  Take a break, Cheerleader.”

Miranda raised an eyebrow.  “I was.”

“Yeah and see where that got you?  At least get a coffee or something, shit.”

A moment later, Miranda found herself following Jack to the tent.  She lapsed into awkward silence, relieved when Jack filled it by boasting about her students.  The stories were a good distraction from the lingering tremble in her hands, though hearing about the students’ hijinks make her miss Oriana all the more.

Jack led her into the tent, pointing out the beginning of the line.  She spotted a few of her students gathered near the door and started to go make sure they weren’t getting into any trouble, but one of the boys jogged over to intercept her before she could step away from Miranda.

“Ma’am!  How was your walk?”  He flashed Jack a wide smile.

“Can it, Prangley.”  Jack glared at him suspiciously and tried to lean around him to see what her other kids were doing.  “What the hell is going on over there?”

Prangley matched Jack’s movements for a few moments, then shifted his attention to Miranda.  “Good to see you again too, Miss Lawson.”

Miranda nodded politely.  “Likewise.”

“What?”  Jack gave up on seeing past Prangley and turned to Miranda, her eyebrows raised in confusion.  “Again?”

“Yes ma’am. We met at the hospital,” Prangley answered helpfully, “when you were injured.”

Miranda could tell with one glance that Jack remembered the encounter, where she had been so vulnerable and hurting over the loss of her student.  If Jack remembered Miranda caring for her and staying with her…  

The brunette quickly excused herself to get food.  She could feel Jack’s gaze on her as she made her way through the line and forced herself not to look over at the instructor.

There was no room to sit, so Miranda found a relatively quiet spot and ate her rations.  The portions were small, but her body’s energy stores had run so low that even the Alliance nutrient paste was satisfying.  The logical train of thought did nothing to ease  the knot of anxiety in her chest over the expression that had been on Jack’s face.

Miranda only looked up when she had finished her meal, and after a quick scan of the tent, found that Jack was nowhere to be seen.  The Grissom students were still gathered near the door, apparently oblivious to their teacher’s absence.  Only Prangley looked concerned, and even his attention waned when one of his classmates called his name.

The former operative swallowed disappointment and deposited her trash, heading for the door.  She needed to return to the array and make sure her teams were still hard at work.

Miranda stepped back out into the ruins of London, surprised to see Jack lingering nearby.  The shorter woman was working out her frustrations on the burnt wreckage of a skycar, compacting it with her biotics.  Miranda considered trying to evade Jack and return to her team unnoticed, but she found herself rooted to the ground.

Jack’s jaw was tense and she crushed the remains of the skycar to a ball the size of Miranda’s desk, then flung it in the direction of the nearby Alliance recycling center.  “You were at the fucking hospital.”

Miranda nodded hesitantly.

“I thought—I mean, shit.  I thought someone was there, but I was all fucked up and figured I was hallucinating or some shit.”  Jack shook her head and exhaled through her teeth.  “But it was you.”

Miranda felt like she should have something to say, but her mind was blank.  She felt decidedly helpless, and it was not a feeling she enjoyed.

Jack was quiet for a few painful moments, then let out a bitter bark of laughter.  “I didn’t know it was you, but… fuck.”

An apology was stuck in Miranda’s throat and she scratched at her collarbone uncomfortably.  “I didn’t think your students should have had to deal with that.”

“Fuck you,” Jack snapped, visibly bristling.  “My kids are tough.”

The former operative winced.  “That isn’t what I meant.  You’ve never been particularly vulnerable in front of anyone.  I thought if your students saw, you might react poorly.”

Jack eyed her for a moment, looking like she wanted to snap at Miranda for psychoanalyzing her.  Instead, the instructor exhaled and nodded.  “Yeah.  I guess.”

It was far from the response Miranda had expected, and a reminder of just how much Jack had grown as a person.  Miranda didn’t say anything, a warm rush of pride and something she couldn’t identify sweeping over her.

A few of the soldiers on her team stepped out of the tent, greeting her cheerily as they headed back to the worksite.  It was enough to snap her out of the moment and Miranda cleared her throat and stepped away from Jack.

“I should… go.”  Miranda hesitated, then spoke again.  “Thank you, Jack,” she murmured.

The instructor looked up at her again, her eyes cutting right through Miranda. After a second, she nodded slowly.  “Yeah.  You too.  For the hospital thing.  I… thanks.”

Miranda smiled faintly.

Prangley stepped out of the tent behind them, raising an eyebrow at the women.

Miranda backed away quickly, feeling somewhat like she had been caught red handed. “I should get back to work,” she said, turning to leave.  As she did, she caught a wide grin on Prangley’s face and flushed as she walked away.

Behind her, she heard Jack scoff.  “What’s that look for?”

“Nothing!”  Prangley singsonged, his voice smug.

Miranda could hear Jack threatening him with running laps as she hurried back to her teams.  The sound of it made her smile, and Miranda shook herself and tried to focus on her mission once again.  As the remaining support beam came into view, Miranda thought of Oriana, letting the mental image of her sister bolster her.

As her teams set the support beams in place and began to raise the communications array, Miranda couldn’t shake the fleeting memory of Jack snatching her out of harm’s way, and wondered if maybe they didn’t hate each other quite as much as they thought.


End file.
